Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Tree Swallows of the Vermilon River. A Post to WBW.

Male Tree Swallow




Not a particularly rare bird, but a first for me in the forest here. These birds are cavity nestors frequenting the fringe of wetland and water areas.
They are migrants here and certainly a welcome addition. I will say they`re difficult to photograph as they`re flighty and fast fliers. Having said that they`re worth the effort as the male is impressive with that blue iridescent plumage.

Male Tree Swallow


Male Tree Swallow.


Male Tree Swallow.


Male Swallow.


Female Tree Swallow




The female is not as flamboyant as the male, but is an attractive bird. Immature females have a variation in plumage, which makes them a non- threat. In the event of the "dominant" female`s death, the immature will take over the nest and hatch the eggs. Nature never fails to amaze me.

Female Tree Swallow.


Female Tree Swallow.


Female Tree Swallow



A Post to WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

Blogger/ Google is again acting up having difficulty saving, and still not showing a complete preview.

28 comments:

  1. Nice captures. We both have tree swallows today. I have a pair nesting in my nest box.

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  2. Swallows are very familiar birds which make me feel the season, early summer."hatching the eggs" story impressed me very much. Nature is awe!! I love your photos, so clear and vivid! Have a great week!

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  3. Nice shots! I always want to take picture of our swallows here but they actually never sit still! Yours are beautiful!!

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  4. Beautiful colors, sharp picture. Very nice that bird. I love the swallows.

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  5. You can definitely twist your neck off trying to catch these babies in flight. Great series Gary, particularly the the info and images of the female. You were the first person ever to post on WBW way back six months ago. You and Boom are still numbers one and two in my book.
    Cheers to you Sir!

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  6. Beautiful photos, swallows is very lovely birds.
    But fast! I have one today to and I am really glad I got the picture, because they dont sit still for long...

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  7. Great captures Gary.
    Good to see them still for a change :-)

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  8. they are beautiful. you got some great shots. we don't see tree swallows here but we have plenty of barn swallows. :)

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  9. Great photos of the tree swallows. They are beautiful birds - but not easy to get good photos.

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  10. Great shots of the tree swallow. They are amazing to watch!

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  11. Wonderful series Gary!

    Blogger definitely hasn't been user friendly lately. :)

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  12. ah, but the little female is quite flirty, don´t you think?

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  13. I love the swallows, great post and swallow photos.

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  14. Nice photos Gary. I can speak from past experience when I say these types of birds are a nightmare to photo when they are doing anything other than perching. Many an hour I have wasted trying to get an in-flight shot.

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  15. Nice captures! These Swallows are lovely birds!

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  16. Perfect takes of the beautiful swallow!

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  17. Hi - very nice shots of the swallows. I'll have to wait a while before I see very many!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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  18. A beautiful set of images as usual. Great work.

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  19. I do not understand how you manage to take all these pictures at so small bird! They are so quick and fly away for me before I even see them.

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  20. Beautiful birds, Gary, and hard to capture on camera.

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  21. Lovely images of your Swallows Gary.
    I am struggling to get a decent capture of ours.

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  22. Beautiful shots. I, too, am impressed that you captured so many excellent images of them!

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  23. Wonderful captures! Swallows are such lovely birds, but can be such a pain to photograph since they're almost always in motion! Great captures!

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